Inglese EZ-EFI Eight Stack System - Modern Injection

Inglese Stacks On A Dart Short-Block

The small-block you see on this month's cover is a superb example of what you get when you combine a nostalgic look with the latest in engine management technology and the result, as we found out on Westech's dyno, is one smooth running engine. Forget everything you heard about stack injection being a nightmare to tune, because thanks to self-learning software, even us average dudes can run such intakes and not worry about the tuning. Sound too good to be true? It's not, thanks to Inglese and FAST.

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The trick injection setup on these pages is Inglese's EZ-EFI Eight Stack System (PN NG4006E) featuring the FAST EZ-EFI kit (PN 30200), which features a self-tuning ECU that had us eager to try out. We've been interested in FAST's EZ-EFI system since it debuted at SEMA a few years ago, but hadn't had an opportunity to try it out. So a few months ago we set out to put Inglese's latest eight-stacked EFI induction (which uses EZ-EFI) on a 400ci Dart small-block to flog it on Westech's dyno. While we weren't looking for huge power numbers on this piece, we did want to show our readers this simple recipe for a solid small-block using off-the-shelf parts and Inglese's frigidly cool intake setup.

Years ago, an intake with eight throttle bodies (or carburetors) was a tedious thing to tune, but the EZ-EFI system with its adaptable software makes tuning your engine a matter of inputting your desired air/fuel numbers into the programmer interface and simply driving it. How cool would it be to know that your car's computer is constantly improving how your engine runs while you drive? That's exactly what the EZ-EFI system does. This learning computer also opens up the potential for those who want to run other nostalgic intakes, such as the Tri-power, cross-ram, and/or dual-quad types, without sweating the tune.

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The Inglese intake comes set up with the throttle bodies, fuel injectors, rails, and throttle linkage in place, but we do have to mention it requires a stubby blower-type distributor in order to clear the rear portion of the intake. Luckily, MSD Ignition offers one that fit perfectly (PN 8570).

We're also featuring a Dart Machinery-built short-block in this article. With one phone call to the Michigan-based head and block shop, we had a pump gas-friendly bottom end on the way to California for some proper dyno testing on Westech's SuperFlow. The builders at Dart put together a 400ci (4.125 bore x 3.75 stroke) with a forged crank, I-beam rods, and hypereutectic flat-top pistons (10:1 CR), which was perfect for our mild small-block.

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For the top end, we ordered RHS' 23-degree 180cc cast port cylinder heads, which feature a 64cc combustion chamber, an improved water jacket design, radiused exhaust valve seats that help promote flow, and an advanced intake port runner design that improves both power and torque over previous runners. We also opted for COMP Cams' new Ultra-Gold ARC series roller rockers in a 1.5 ratio. The camshaft we ordered was a COMP hydraulic roller with around 230 degrees of duration at 0.050 and 0.502 of lift on the intake and 0.520 on the exhaust side. The idea was to make some good low-end torque since this engine is going in a heavy car, however we wanted it to make at least over 400. We knew the mild cam, smallish head, moderate compression, and limited rpm would make it a challenge to surpass 450 hp, but we wanted to make over 450 lb-ft of torque to move the heavy roller the engine is destined for. It may not be a jaw-dropping powerhouse, but it sure looks bitchin.

Read on to learn more about this smooth operator.

Q & A with Inglese's Jay Adams

Chevy High Performance: Do the injector stack tubes come in different diameters and lengths?

CHP: Have you done any testing with the different length tubes? If so, what do the various sizes do to the powerband of an engine?

JA: In very high horsepower applications, the stack length can have an affect on the engine's torque curve; more specifically, we see this in the case of mechanical injection, or even in our carbureted systems. However, in milder street applications (say below 650 hp) and more specifically in the case with EFI, there is very little measurable difference in performance and driveability between our two different length stack options.

CHP: On the website, it says "capable of supporting engines up to 1,000 hp and allow a much broader camshaft selection than a carbureted setup," is that because the stacks flow so much? How many different throttle bodies are offered?

JA: We have both 50mm and 58mm throttle bodies. When you have eight individual columns of air the size of what an Inglese system is capable of feeding the engine, the horsepower potential is certainly there. The limiting factors tends to be more relative to how radical the engine is, such as compression, choice of cylinder head, how radical the valvetrain is, etc.

CHP: What are some of the options available in terms of injectors, throttle bodies, and stack tubes?

JA: As far as hard part options, we offer both 50 and 58mm throttle bodies, but the 50s are by far the most versatile-and popular. Stack-wise, we offer the 1.5- and 3.5-inch heights. Then, when it comes to injectors, we offer a variety of sizes from 39s to 88s, and even then we can fine-tune their flow even more so with injector opening timing, the duty cycle and fuel pressure. Operating system-wise, we offer both our EZ and XFI systems, along with a full complement of harness offerings, and custom options as well, such as show polish, custom paint, chroming, etc. We can get as creative as the customer desires. We can build a system to bolt right onto a stock motor and perform with extremely good street manners, and still make excellent horsepower numbers in the upper-rpm range. Using either the self-tuning feature of our EZ-EFI system, or the full-on laptop-tunable XFI version, the systems are fully adaptable to just about any application.

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The Inglese setup uses this idle air control drive (IAC) in order to regulate the idle as the computer learns. You can actually view the IAC piston functioning as the engine runs.

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Before lowering on the intake, Brule filled the crankcase with COMP Cam's 10W-30 Break-In oil. This lubricant features all the trick additives and zinc content to ensure your cam won't eat itself on startup.

MORE PHOTOS

The Dart short-block in question features 400ci, flat-top pistons, a forged crank, and I-beam rods. A 10:1 compression ratio was the goal with 64cc chamber cylinder heads.

The lifter valley of the Dart block looks beefy and comes equipped with the provisions needed for the "dog bone" retainer plate kit from COMP (PN 08-1000).

The Dart SHP block features a 4.125-inch bore, which leaves more than enough meat around the bores to go larger if you ever wanted.

The block is a late-model style, which means it requires a cam retainer plate, instead of a cam button like early small-blocks. We found that there are actually two size plates and our Dart block ended up needing the larger big-block cam plate. Luckily Westech had one handy.

The Dart-supplied forged crankshaft features a 3.75-inch arm. A stock oil pan and oil pump with a standard pickup was used for the oiling system.

Six-inch rods are clamped around standard Chevy rod journals.

The first thing on the agenda once the short-block was safely at Westech was to stab in the hydraulic roller camshaft from COMP Cams. We opted for a mild profile with 0.502/0.520 lift and approximately 230 degrees at 0.050. Steve Brule at Westech ended up advancing the cam to further promote low-end torque.

With the cam and lifters installed, Brule fastens down the retainer plate.

We used Fel-Pro gaskets throughout this engine build, and we still love working with their famous blue rubber one-piece gaskets for both the oil pan and the valve covers.

Hanging off the crank snout is a TCI Rattler (PN 870001) to absorb harmful vibrations. This uniquely designed balancer uses small circular weights internally to combat harmonics, and they tend to "rattle" when you shut the engine down.

Before dropping the 180cc Pro Action heads onto the block, we fitted a pair of Fel-Pro head gaskets into place (PN 1003).

With some Fel-Pro intake gaskets in place, the complete Inglese setup was lowered onto the short-block. You can actually order this with a few different options, including longer stacks and larger throttle bodies (see sidebar for other options).

Here, Brule lowers the RHS heads onto the 400 (PN 12041). These affordable castings feature 2.02-inch intake valves and 1.60-inch exhaust valves that feature a unique cut that helps improve flow. These heads admittedly are a bit small for the cubic inches, but work great for a mild, torque-happy build such as this.

On Westech's SuperFlow engine dyno, there were few sensors to hook up, but FAST included comprehensive instructions that make hooking it up a breeze.

The Inglese setup uses this idle air control drive (IAC) in order to regulate the idle as the computer learns. You can actually view the IAC piston functioning as the engine runs.

In order to clear the runners in the rear of the engine, a short, small cap distributor must be used with the Inglese intake. MSD's Pro Billet piece (PN 8570) was exactly what we needed, and it cleared just fine. On the dyno, we played with timing between 30 and 35, but it made little difference in power.

COMP Cam's Ultra Gold ARC rockers were used in this engine and featured a standard 1.5-inch ratio. An adjustable pushrod also from COMP allowed us to find the ideal pushrod length.

The sensors needed to hook up the EZ-EFI include: wideband O2, coolant temperature, air temperature, and manifold absolute pressure (MAP). However, the throttle position sensor (TPS) comes already fixed to the throttle.

Before lowering on the intake, Brule filled the crankcase with COMP Cam's 10W-30 Break-In oil. This lubricant features all the trick additives and zinc content to ensure your cam won't eat itself on startup.

The brain of the operation is FAST's EZ-EFI box, which is a self-learning computer that, once it gets desired parameters from the user, constantly adjusts fuel injector pulse according to O2 readings in the exhaust until your engine runs at the air/fuel ratio you want, at every point in the rpm range.

You can get two different lengths for the Inglese 50mm throttle bodies, 1.5 inches (PN NG5103-8) and 3.5 inches (PN NG5104-8). In all-out race engines, the lengths can affect the torque curve. In most applications, however, especially with EFI (where the injectors spray low in the plenum), it's not a critical factor when it comes to overall performance.

There are essentially three A/F targets you have to input before the EZ-EFI can start working its magic: idle, cruise, and wide open. You can also control rev limits, idle speed, and calibrate the TPS in the advanced options menu.

There are essentially three A/F targets you have to input before the EZ-EFI can start working its magic: idle, cruise, and wide open. You can also control rev limits, idle speed, and calibrate the TPS in the advanced options menu.

Here you can see the EZ-EFI learning as we make dyno pulls. The bar next to "TAF" represents our target air/fuel ratio, while the top bar shows actual air/fuel ratio. You can literally watch this get better the longer the engine runs.

Once the EZ-EFI had a good grasp on what air/fuel we wanted and the engine was running smoothly, we made a series of 5,300-rpm pulls with Rockett Brand pump fuel (93-octane). Like we mentioned earlier, low-end torque was our goal here, so we weren't too disappointed with our 435 hp result; it was the 486 lb-ft at 4,000 rpm that had us nodding in acceptance.

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